Medirest signs five-year deal with Darent Valley Hospital
Medirest, the NHS-facing healthcare division of Compass Group UK & Ireland, has signed a five-year deal with Darent Valley Hospital, part of the Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust.
Medirest will provide support services such as catering, cleaning, portering, security and reception, with 300 members of staff transferring to Medirest. Serco previously provided catering services to the hospital.
Medirest's patient dining solution, Steamplicity, will be served to patients, with the introduction of new meal ordering technology. There will also be "significant investment" into the hospital's restaurant. A Wellspring restaurant will be introduced, with pods for informal meetings, an ordering app and digital screens to improve queuing times.
The group has committed to supporting local and social enterprise suppliers, such as the Paul Rhodes Bakery, Change Please Coffee, Solley's Ice Cream and Kent crisps; and there will be a bi-monthly street food event, featuring local suppliers.
Artificial intelligence is going to be used to create more efficient routing for portering and logistics tasks, using a geo-location system for mapping and allocating work, tracking where jobs need completing, setting up deployment and automatically updating the portering team and hospital departments. A vacuum cleaning robot will also be used.
Steve Cenci, managing director of Compass Group UK & Ireland – healthcare, said: "This partnership brings to life synergies and introduces innovation where needed in areas that are important to Darent Valley Hospital and Medirest. This practical appliance of technology will enhance the experience for anyone needing to visit the hospital. We have a comprehensive plan in place, and we can't wait to implement it."
Carolyn Lewis, director of estates, facilities and capital at Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trusts, said: "We would like to thank the support teams for all of their commitment and dedication, particularly during the most challenging times of the pandemic. We are looking forward to continuing to work alongside our colleagues as they transfer over to Medirest. This is a very exciting time for the Trust and the enhanced services promise to be both groundbreaking and outstanding. We are excited about all the innovative solutions which will be introduced as a result of the change."
